Chris Nicoli/Imagn Images
The Utah Mammoth visit the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Saturday, October 3, 2026, with puck drop set for 7:00 PM EDT.
Matchup: Utah Mammoth (1-0-0, 2 points in 2026-27) at Columbus Blue Jackets (1-0-0, 2 points in 2026-27)
Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026
Puck drop: 7:00 PM EDT
Venue: Nationwide Arena
How to watch: CBJ: CBJNHL, CBJHN · UTA: Utah16
Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster
Utah Mammoth News & Notes
Utah opened the 2026-27 season at home with a 6-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 1, a shutout that gave the Mammoth their statement start to the schedule. The club had announced its 23-man opening night roster on Sept. 28, a few days before the opener. Utah’s official team hashtag entering the season remains #TusksUp, carried over from the franchise’s Utah Hockey Club days.
General manager Bill Armstrong reshaped the group over the summer, acquiring center Vincent Trocheck from the New York Rangers for Sean Durzi, a prospect and a third-round pick, and adding forward Anders Lee. The blue line took a hit before the season began, as defenseman Maveric Lamoureux underwent shoulder surgery and is expected to miss four to six months. Prospects Daniil But, Michael Hrabal and Artem Duda, all Tucson Roadrunners alumni, attended Utah’s rookie camp in September.
Columbus Blue Jackets News & Notes
The Blue Jackets opened the season with a reshaped top six after trading Kirill Marchenko, Miles Wood and goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to Toronto for Matthew Knies, Steven Lorentz, defenseman Emil Andrae and a second-round pick. Marchenko had informed Columbus through his agent that he would not sign an extension, leaving general manager Don Waddell to seek an impact player rather than futures. Knies, 23, posted 58 and 66 points the past two seasons and scored twice with an assist in his Columbus debut, a win over Buffalo.
Rick Bowness returns after closing last season by questioning whether losing bothered his players, and he has made culture his stated priority. Columbus went 2-8-1 over its final 11 games and missed the playoffs for a sixth straight year. The special teams need work, as the power play ranked 22nd at 18.9 percent and the penalty kill 28th at 76.0 percent. Adam Fantilli ended a two-week holdout by signing a six-year, $82.5 million extension carrying a $13.75 million cap hit.
Utah Mammoth Projected Lines
Line 1: Clayton Keller – Nick Schmaltz – Vincent Trocheck
Line 2: Anders Lee – Logan Cooley – Dylan Guenther
Line 3: Lawson Crouse – Barrett Hayton – Jack McBain
Line 4: Michael Carcone – Kevin Stenlund – Daniil But
Pair 1: Mikhail Sergachev – MacKenzie Weegar
Pair 2: Nate Schmidt – John Marino
Pair 3: Dmitri Simashev – Andrew Peeke
Goaltenders: Karel Vejmelka – Sebastian Cossa
Utah Mammoth Special Teams
Power play, First unit: Nick Schmaltz – Logan Cooley – Clayton Keller – Dylan Guenther – Mikhail Sergachev
Power play, Second unit: Anders Lee – Vincent Trocheck – Michael Carcone – Daniil But – John Marino
Penalty kill, First unit: Nick Schmaltz – Lawson Crouse – Mikhail Sergachev – MacKenzie Weegar
Penalty kill, Second unit: Kevin Stenlund – Jack McBain – Nate Schmidt – John Marino
Columbus Blue Jackets Projected Lines
Line 1: Matthew Knies – Adam Fantilli – Kent Johnson
Line 2: Valeri Nichushkin – Sean Monahan – Dmitri Voronkov
Line 3: Cole Sillinger – Charlie Coyle – Mathieu Olivier
Line 4: Conor Garland – Danton Heinen – Ryan Lomberg
Pair 1: Zach Werenski – Denton Mateychuk
Pair 2: Carson Soucy – Emil Andrae
Pair 3: Jake Christiansen – Erik Gudbranson
Goaltenders: Jet Greaves – Cam Talbot
Columbus Blue Jackets Special Teams
Power play, First unit: Matthew Knies – Charlie Coyle – Adam Fantilli – Kent Johnson – Zach Werenski
Power play, Second unit: Conor Garland – Dmitri Voronkov – Valeri Nichushkin – Denton Mateychuk – Sean Monahan
Penalty kill, First unit: Charlie Coyle – Sean Monahan – Zach Werenski – Denton Mateychuk
Penalty kill, Second unit: Cole Sillinger – Valeri Nichushkin – Jake Christiansen – Erik Gudbranson
Players To Watch
Anders Lee — Utah Mammoth
Lee opened the scoring column with a goal on four shots in just 12:07 last time out, and Box Score Junkie has him at 53.6% Corsi-for with 74.3 shot attempts for per 60 this season to date. He has one goal on 0.5 expected, so the volume is there in limited minutes.
Matthew Knies — Columbus Blue Jackets
Knies put up 2G 1A on four shots in 16:06 last time out, the biggest night of anyone in this game. That is a three-point game on modest ice time, so anyone shopping shots-on-goal or anytime-scorer markets has a recent reason to look his way again tonight.
Injury Report
Utah Mammoth
Maveric Lamoureux (D) — Injured Reserve, Shoulder, expected back Friday, February 12
Columbus Blue Jackets: no report available.
Next Up
Utah Mammoth: visit the New York Rangers on Sunday, October 4.
Columbus Blue Jackets: host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, October 9.